I have to admit I was proud of myself this morning. Not only did I do my Tai Chi, but I also did a whole set of my seven-minute workout routines. Of course, I had no idea how to measure the thirty-second interval, but I hoped my internal clock was good enough. I decided to forgo my walk. The exercise had taken too much out of me. I think I was going to be paying for this later. After my bath, I got a fresh pair of clothes and my Scarf of Title on and then headed to breakfast.

Draves was there, and I remembered that I needed to ask him about how to send a letter to the people I had written to. He recommended sending a runner to the town, and then it would travel by caravan.

"Have you written to Young Aarons's grandparents?" He asked

I slapped my forehead. "How am I supposed to remember all this?" I sighed.

"You need a steward. You are not meant to keep everything in order. You're responsible for protecting the people and dealing with interactions with other nobles."

"I don't know any stewards and don't know where to look for one."

"You may also have trouble convincing one to come out this way. A steward is a very enviable position in the homes of nobles and other powerful men. But there would be little prestige in working out here, I'm afraid." Draves said with a slight frown. "Maybe…" He became lost in thought.

I was about to ask him what he was thinking but held my tongue at the last minute. After a moment, Draves looked at me thoughtfully and said, "I know a man who may fit our needs. It isn't a perfect solution, and I don't know if he will accept, but I could write to him.

"It doesn't seem that you are proposing a man who is a steward. What type of man is he?" I said hesitantly.

"When I was in the king's army, I was privileged to meet many different men. James was a Quartermaster in the king's personal service for his guard. He took his pension when the old king stopped campaigning. With his large pension, James opened three inns run by him and his sons. He has four sons, but they don't get along. His first three sons managed the individual businesses, and he and his fourth son managed them as a whole entity. When James died, the three brothers parted ways with each other and left the fourth son with nothing. He has been working as a bookkeeper in Kimton for the last five years. His name is Edward. The young man is very organized and detailed in his work. If he still is employed at the same place, I could send him a letter. He may be interested or know someone who is."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It couldn't hurt to try. Send him a letter and enough silver to help him get here."

"That is generous, My Lord, but if we are doing that, we may want to send one of my men with the letter. The men got back with the beans yesterday so that I can spare one or two for the task."

"I am glad they are back. It's only a four-day journey to Decmoore. I was beginning to worry."

"That is your fault, My Lord." The captain said seriously.

"Wait, my fault? How is it my fault?!" I said in shock.

"You told them to enjoy themselves with the extra coin before they came back, and there was no rush for them to get back. They got an excellent deal on the beans and had fun with the rest."

I slapped my forehead. "I guess I need to be careful with what I say. Oh well, your idea is excellent. We could have him take all the letters and expedite this whole mailing problem. I will go write that letter to my brother's father-in-law. I know it is lying or at least misdirection, but I think I will forgo telling them that it was murder that was the cause of death. I feel bad about doing it, though."

"It is probably for the best," Draves nodded.

"Draves, I would like to see the ocean. Is there a way to get through the marsh?"

"It is twenty miles away, at least. Not even our hunters go that far. Why not head west to the cliffs?

I sighed. I had two reasons I wanted to visit the ocean. First, I heard you could make salt from seawater by evaporating it somehow. West of us were the cliffs with no way down, but if we went north, we might find a place suitable to evaporate the water. I am guessing it wasn't quite as simple as putting it in a pit and letting it evaporate, but I am sure we could find a way. Second, I had never seen an ocean before. I wanted to go surfing. How cool would it be to make the first surfboard! I loved watching surfboarding competitions on TV. Ok, admittedly, that may have been the first reason.

"I don't just want to see the ocean; I want to jump into it. I don't think jumping off fifty-foot cliffs with rocks below them is the way to go about that unless I want to be immortalized in a foolish tale about unrequited love."

"I know that there are hunters who have gone that far. They say there are game trails through the marsh that will keep you on high ground. We could take horses, my horse, and my brother, to pack supplies. We could probably make it in three or four days.

"I have to advise against it, My Lord. You are not in the best physical condition, and it is not far from the time when the poisonous snakes will become more active."

I ignored most of what he said. "Well, we better make the trip quickly before it gets too warm. We can go tomorrow or the next day."

"You weren't listening to me, were you, My Lord?" he said, his lips turned down.

"So I can't go?"

Draves took a deep breath and probably wanted to roll his eyes. "No, My Lord, we can go if you can ride your horse around the yard for a few hours a day for the next couple of days. Your body will need to get used to it, and no matter what we do, you will be sore."

"Let's go down and see Jorb and Mikel. I want to see if they have made another plow in the last few days."

"When I was last down there, I saw two out in the fields. They are certainly better than the scratch plows, but they still take time with the oxen."

"Would horses be faster?"

"Horses don't have the endurance of oxen and are more expensive to maintain. They don't do well with plow harnesses."

Hopefully, my new harness will help. "Are there any other farm animals that we can use?"

Draves pondered for a bit. "They have a mule up in Melnon. Again, it has trouble with the harness on heavier loads, but from what I know of them, it is a good balance between endurance and speed."

That might be a good animal to test the new harness on. "OK, Captain, enough dallying around. Let's get me on a horse."

We went to the barn, where I watched Drake saddle my horse. There was something wrong with the saddle, but I didn't figure it out until they brought out a large step stool to help me get up on the horse. don't these saddles have stirrups?" I said in an alarmed voice.

"What is a stirrup, My Lord," Drake asked.

I noticed that the word didn't translate. "You have got to be kidding me! What sort of backwater place am I living in? Captain, there should be straps that hang down with loops on the end to help the person stay on the horse."

"I have never heard of such a thing, My Lord."

I sighed, "OK, we are postponing my lessons until I get the stirrups drawn up." I headed back inside, grumbling as I went. Seriously, what was wrong with these people? Were they trying to make me break my neck?!

I did a quick sketch of a stirrup at my table and hurried back to the stable. My horse was still saddled, but Draves had wandered off. Drake was mucking out the stables, so I waved for him to come over. "I need you to go find Draves and tell him I am ready, and then take these sketches down to Jorb. I don't mind if you take a little time to say hi to Jacklyn while you are down there," I said with a wink.

At my words, Drake snatched the papers and headed down to see his lady friend. I smiled and waited for Draves. I put my hand on the horse's neck and ran it down its beautiful black coat. "Well, Mr. Horse, I don't know your name, but it looks like we will be going on an adventure. Let's make sure we get along. I have a secret. I'm not the Amos that used to ride you. "I whispered conspiratorially. "I've never actually ridden a horse. So, I was wondering if you could kind of go easy on me. Don't Tell Draves, but I am a little afraid of riding you."

The horse just looked at me with his big black eyes and gave a whinny. "Are you laughing at me?" I asked the horse sternly. "I am your baron; I demand respect from my subjects."

The horse snorted.

"Fine, I deserved that. I'm not very good at playing the part of a noble. You just remember to keep our secret."

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"My Lord, I assure you that you have nothing to fear with horses. I have told many secrets to my horses throughout the years, and not once has one betrayed my confidence."

I spun to see Draves standing a few feet behind me. "Dang, Captain, how are you so sneaky?"

"Practice, My Lord. Let's see how well you ride." He brought over the stool, and I climbed up into the saddle. It wasn't easy to get my leg over. Even with the stretching I had been doing, I wasn't very flexible. From the very start, it felt uncomfortable. Draves started giving me tips on correcting my posture. It felt better on my body, but the uncomfortableness was still there. "How's that?" I said as he looked me over.

"Now, I will lead the horse around the pen.

"You're not going to give me the reins?" I said. I was a little offended.

"I will if you insist, My Lord, but I counsel you to let me lead you for a while until you and Blaze get familiar with one another. You don't seem to have ridden a horse much in your past life.

"Well… Uh… to tell the truth, I have never ridden a horse before." I said sheepishly.

"And you wanted to go for an eight-day round trip through the marsh?"

"I'm sure I can learn quickly," I said defensively.

'I'm sure you can, My Lord, but it takes time for the body to get used to riding horses. You would be traveling on horseback for a large portion of the day or at least three days to get to the coast, as well as three days back. I would prefer to lead you around for the first day and, on the second day, let you ride in the corral with instructions. Hopefully, within four to five days, we will be able to have you trained well enough to go through the marsh."

"Fine, lead on, Captain," I said.

I will admit. Riding horses sucked. I am so glad I had good cushioning on my butt because this was almost as bad as the carriage. My posture kept slipping, and my legs rubbed uncomfortably on the saddle. After an hour of being led around, I begged the captain to give me a break.

I got off the horse unsteadily and hobbled over to a bench where I could sit down. I hurt, and I had to admit that Draves was right. I would not last an hour on the trail. Draves could see I was discouraged and came over. "Do not worry, My Lord. It will get better. No one does well on their first time in the saddle.

"I don't know if I should have sat down. I might not be able to get up," I said. I stayed sitting there for an hour and then got back on the horse. I was not going to let this beat me—at least, that is what I thought. After another hour in the saddle, I was done for the day. Drake had taken over for the captain once he was sure he wasn't going to break my neck.

When I got back to my room, I took a bath to help with the soreness. When that was over, I wrote letters to my nephew's grandparents. I assured them Aaron was well and that he would be taken care of. I hope I didn't demand that they raise him instead of keeping him here. It probably would have been better for him, but I would miss the kid.

I took all the letters I meant to send out. And put them in a stack. I had written to the King, Duke, and Count over my lands, my aunts, and Aaron's grandparents. I needed to give them to Draves and have him send them out with the letter to his friend's son. I had increased the amount of paper to thirty sheets for each of my aunts and wrapped them in oiled cloth to prevent the rain from ruining them. These sheets also had the new watermark I had designed for the paper. They looked so good. Emily was so proud that her paper was being sent out of our barony. I decided to have one of the stable hands give them to Draves with a piece of silver to get them over to the mail system in Decmoore.

I hadn't been to see Carrie since her family had been locked in their rooms a few days ago. I needed to make sure she and her mother were doing well. I didn't want them to do anything drastic. I should probably feel concerned about Marcus's well-being, but I didn't think he felt any guilt. I know that, according to the law, I could just execute him and be done with it, but I couldn't do it. Not even to Marcus, who I figured would, given the chance, happily stick a knife in my back. Just because this world gave me the authority to punish him for posible intention didn't mean I was going to become a murder.

I shook my head. And headed to the steward's quarters first. I could check on Carrie later. Curtis was guarding their door, and I could tell he was bored. I knew we had a prison behind the barracks, but I was trying to make this easier on them and not make them feel like criminals. I also wanted others to see that I didn't view them as such. The guard standing at the didn't help the image I was trying to portray of the family, but there wasn't much I could do about that.

I knocked on the door and waited for it to be answered. Marcus yanked open the door and glared at me. When he recognized who it was standing across from him, he immediately put his head down and apologized. I ignored his hostile attitude. Curtis entered the room first, and I followed. Looking around, things seemed to be in order. The small room was clean and orderly. Two plates sat on the table with the remains of their last meal on it.

"I came to inquire after your mother," I said stiffly.

"She is well but has secluded herself in the other room, My Lord," he said in his normal icy and formal tone.

"I would like to speak with her," I replied forcefully. This guy was such a jerk; I couldn't wait to get rid of him.

His demeanor cracked for just a moment, and he looked uncomfortable. "My Lord, unfortunately, she is not well. It would be best if she rested."

So, um, that wasn't suspicious at all.

"You said she was well, and now you say she is unwell. On which point are you lying, Marcus? Curtis, watch the boy."

I knocked on the door and said, "Patricia, It's me, Amos."

Dang, I forgot to add my title.

"Uh, Lord Amos, I am coming in."

I heard some shuffling on the other side of the door, "My Lord, wait I…" I would have waited a bit to make sure she was decent, but something told me I needed to go in before she could come up with an excuse to refuse me. The room was mostly in shadow. Only a small amount of light came in through the small cloth-covered window. I had noticed that all the windows in this place had windows that would be too small for an adult to fit through.

Must be to deter robbers.

Patricia stood in the corner, enveloped in shadows. Something was definitely wrong. I walked over and pulled back the cloth. "Patrica, come over here, please."

Hesitantly, she walked towards the window where I could see her better. Her head was down, but it didn't hide the bruises on her face or the swollen eye. At first, I just stared in shock, but then my blood began to boil.

"Follow me, Patricia," I said firmly.

"Yes, My Lord," she said meekly as we entered the other room.

"Curtis, were you aware of this?" I said, trying to control my anger. Curtis's face left no doubt in my mind that he had no idea what was going on. He looked at Patrica's bruised face and torn blouse in utter confusion. When things started to click into place for him, he began to look between Patrica and Marcus in disbelief. His eyes turned steely as he started to draw his sword. Marcus's face turned pale, and he only made it two steps toward the door before Curtis seized him.

"Marcus," I growled. "I have given you every opportunity to redeem yourself. I have given you the lightest punishment possible for your crimes. I have treated you as a victim of your father's greed rather than a criminal. And this is how you repay me. I warned you to respect your mother. I am done. Curtis, take him to prison, and there is no need to guard this room anymore. Patricia won't leave without her family."

Patricia collapsed to the floor, weeping and pleading for mercy for her vile son. I wanted to comfort her, I really did, but I said nothing. Anything I said right now would not help. I needed to cool my head first. I turned and walked down the hall towards my room. I needed to calm down. On my way to the room, a messenger intercepted me.

"My Lord, I have a message for you," he said, handing me a message written on Birch.

The penmanship was not very legible, but I got the jist of the message. Unfortunately, when it rains, it pours. The young man whom I was going to send a bonesetter for had contracted a fever and, according to Maggie, would most likely be dead by the time this message reached me.

Trying to keep my voice from cracking, I thanked the boy for the message and told him he was welcome to eat with us here that evening before he returned. Also, to tell the cook he was to receive two loves of bread for his service. With that, I turned and left.

The next thing I knew, I found myself sitting on the edge of my bed with my head in my hands. Tears ran down my face as I thought about the poor family that had just lost a son. Was he married? I couldn't even remember that whole discussion with his father. Did I have a way to help support the man's family if he was? Life was crueler here. Many more ways to die.

I allowed myself to grieve for a while. I could feel self-pity creeping in, and I shook myself. I would not allow that. How could I help these people? We didn't have medicines like antibiotics here did we? From what I had seen, cleanliness was important to these people, but I should ask about what they knew and how wounds were treated. Did they boil their water and bandages? Did they sterilize anything that toughed wounds? Did they use any plants with antibacterial properties? My mother swore up and down that onions were the key to a healthy life. Have an ear infection. Use onion juice in the ear. Cut yourself a slice of onion in the cut with a vantage wrapped around it.

I wanted to go see Aaron, but there was work to be done and people to serve. I could see him after dinner. Right now, I have decided to write down all I know about medicine and compare it with Maggie's.

I was still fuming when Curtis found me.

"The prisoner has been locked away, My Lord."

"Thank you, Curtis," I said. My blood began to boil again, thinking of what Marcus had done.

"May I be of any further assistance, My Lord."

"I want Marcus gotten rid of as soon as possible. He does not deserve the mercy we have shown him," I growled. Curtis's eyebrows rose in shock, but he bowed and left.

Mikle

"So, how are things going with those new shoes for horses?" I asked as I entered Jorb's shop.

"Good, I think. I made my first set of metal horseshoes. After almost getting kicked by the horse, though, I made a hobble. Once I put on the first two, it calmed down a bit. I am just not used to working with the beasts." He shrugged

"Do you think they will make a difference?" I asked.

"The plow worked, the paper idea worked, and that stirrup thing seems like a good idea. I guess we will just have to see," he said.

"Well, it will be interesting to see. Jim came by today to let me know that the fields were doing great and told me to thank you."

"Lazy git. He could have come by himself."

"He is lazy. He asked if we could make a seat for the plow, and then they could drive it like a wagon." I said with a grin.

"Actually," Jorb said, rubbing his chin, "That would be interesting. Of course, we would have to lighten it. Those wheels are too heavy as it is."

"Spoked wheels?" I suggested.

"Oh, you're a wheelwright now, are you?" He chuckled, "Good to know, that will save Lord Amos a lot of money.

"Ha. I know how they work. I could probably do it."

"And when would you find the time?"

"I still think we should try. I wish we had a lathe here." I said wistfully.

"If you ask the lord, he will probably get you one."

"Maybe I will."

"OK, if you want to do try and make a wheel, that's fine. You make the design, and I will make the fittings. But if Lord Amos gets upset, I am blaming you."

"He will love it, you'll see," I said, faking confidence I didn't have.